Consolidated payment account system and method

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a system and method for providing and/or facilitating complete on-line payment services while protecting the privacy of the transaction participants. The comprehensive payment service is based upon a consolidated account used to store value acquired through on-line transactions. The invention provides private payment numbers for protecting the identities of the participants and includes processes for authenticating participants, authorizing transactions, and settling payments. Thus, the present invention enables merchants to effectively accept non-standard forms of payment without changing their current payment infrastructures and enables the provision of value for purchases at any network merchant using any source of value.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims benefit from U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Serial No. 60/301,337, filed Jun. 27, 2001, which is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] The present invention relates generally to systems forfacilitating transactions, and more specifically to systems forfacilitating secure payment and funding services using a pre-fundedaccount and protecting the privacy of the transaction participants.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The advent of on-line commerce has created a need fornon-traditional payment and funding vehicles to enable consumers toreliably transfer value to merchants in exchange for goods or services.Although a variety of non-standard payment vehicles have recently becomeavailable, to use these non-traditional payment services causes avariety of disadvantages.

[0004] Historically, merchants and consumers transacting business haddone so together in a single physical location. Accordingly, consumerswere able to easily transfer value to merchants in the form of tangibleobjects such as coins or currency. In time, various institutionsdeveloped alternative services for facilitating transfers of valuebetween consumers and merchants. Such services eliminated the necessityto transfer a tangible object and offered the alternative of merelyproviding information sufficient to enable the merchant to acquire thenecessary value from a reliable third party, such as a financialinstitution. Eventually, it became common for consumers to present bankdrafts, plastic cards (e.g., credit cards, debit cards, or the like), orother physical objects containing the information to merchants. Theconsumer's possession of the card coupled with some identifying indiciaon the card or another form of identification such as a driver's licenseserved to reduce fraud. In effect, consumers facilitated transactions bymerely presenting sufficient information to identify their financialinstitution and a particular account at that institution from which adesignated amount of value could be transferred.

[0005] Through widespread use of such cards and bank drafts, a paymentprocess evolved to facilitate transactions. In this traditional paymentprocess, a consumer would present a financial instrument to a merchant,which would send the financial instrument, or the information therefrom,to an acquirer. The acquirer would pay the merchant and forward theinstrument, or information, to the instrument's issuer, who would billthe consumer. Finally, the acquirer and the issuer would settleaccording to the various discounts and fees due each.

[0006] Eventually, an extensive payment infrastructure was developedcomprising communication links between merchants, financialinstitutions, and consumers. This payment infrastructure is adapted tofacilitating the traditional payment process quickly, reliably, andefficiently. Further, while the infrastructure has evolved and beenrefined, financial institutions participating in the infrastructure havealso developed many additional varied financial instruments specificallytailored to be used in conjunction with the payment infrastructure.

[0007] In addition, many institutions now make available additionalsources of value that may be used in conjunction with coin, currency,and cash to facilitate transactions. For example, consumers may redeemcertificates for discounts, rebates, rewards, and/or loyalty points.Often, such certificates may be combined with another source of value toreduce the out-of-pocket cost to the consumer. In most cases, however,to use a certificate requires the consumer to provide a document orother tangible object to the merchant that describes the terms of theoffer and how it is funded or may be redeemed by the merchant.

[0008] With the advent of on-line commerce, the common lack of physicalproximity between the consumer and the merchant has rendered transfersof cash and other tangible objects nearly obsolete. Accordingly, demandhas increased significantly for alternative payment and funding vehiclesto enable consumers to reliably transfer value to providers of goods orservices.

[0009] In response to this need, a variety of non-standard paymentvehicles have recently become available to facilitate on-linetransactions. For example, several private cash vendors such as Flooz,Beenz, InternetCash, and the like have recently introduced theirservices to on-line consumers and merchants. Unfortunately, however, touse these non-traditional payment services requires merchants andconsumers to adapt to varied and non-traditional paymentinfrastructures. In addition, most of the available non-standard onlinepayment products have required merchants to adopt new authorization andsettlement processes and have failed to adequately take advantage of theexisting payment infrastructures used for the more traditional forms ofpayment, such as credit, debit, charge cards and cash. As a result,these non-traditional payment services have had minimal success or havefailed to gain significant acceptance in the marketplace, and newentrants may be destined for failure.

[0010] The lack of universal merchant acceptance of the variedinstruments now held by consumers limits and unnecessarily complicatesthe payment choices available to consumers. For example, some merchantsmay accept cards from only one preferred issuer, and if a consumer doesnot hold that instrument, the consumer must either avoid that merchantor acquire an instrument that the merchant will accept. In many cases,these choices are unacceptable and may produce a disadvantageoussituation. For example, a consumer may be forced to forego their use ofan advantageous loyalty program or preferential interest rate.

[0011] The advent of on-line commerce has also helped to enablemerchants as well as payment service providers to collect and analyzeextensive data regarding the purchasing and payment characteristics ofconsumers and the sales and collection characteristics of merchants.While these data collection capabilities may be desirable and may offercertain advantages to some participants, to others they present aninfringement upon the participants' expectation of privacy. Someconsumers simply do not want merchants or payment service providers tobe able to collect information regarding their purchasing and/or paymentcharacteristics or even the identity of the participants to theirtransactions. Similarly, some merchants simply do not want paymentvehicle service providers, especially those closely affiliated with themerchants' creditors, to be able to collect data regarding themerchants' sales and/or collection histories.

[0012] In partial response to these problems, a variety of systemscurrently exist for inserting an account between a merchant and apayment vehicle service provider (i.e., U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,014,646;6,032,136; 5,826,243; 5,963,924; 6,189,787 and 6,223,168).Unfortunately, however, these systems do not always allow consumers touse their desired payment vehicle service provider, or value source.Moreover, none of these systems substantially protects the privacy ofthe participants while providing a complete payment service, fromauthentication of the participants to authorization of the transactionto settlement of the payment.

[0013] Further, attempts to simply adapt traditional card-based purchasetransactions leave many problems unsolved. For example, the use oftraditional card payment systems may present difficulties whenever aconsumer desires to use more than one financial instrument at a time topay for a particular purchase. In such situations, the consumer willreceive separate statements, each describing only a portion of theactivity related to that purchase. As a result, the consumer mustmanually consolidate and integrate the information from the variousstatements to view the total records of the transactions reflectedtherein.

[0014] Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a payment vehiclewhereby merchants could effectively accept payments funded by one ormore non-standard sources of value without changing their standardizedand widely accepted payment infrastructures. It would also beadvantageous to have a payment vehicle that could be used to providevalue for purchases at any network merchant using any desired source ofvalue. It would further be advantageous to have a system for providingor facilitating a complete payment service, from authentication of theparticipants to authorization of the transaction to settlement of thepayment, while simultaneously protecting the privacy of theparticipants.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0015] The present invention provides a system and method for providingand/or facilitating complete on-line as well as off-line paymentservices while simultaneously protecting the privacy of the transactionparticipants. The comprehensive payment service is based upon aconsolidated account that stores value to be used in on-line andoff-line transactions. The invention also protects the identities ofparticipants and includes processes for authenticating participants,authorizing transactions, and settling payments. As such, the presentinvention enables merchants to effectively accept non-standard forms ofpayment without changing their current payment infrastructures. Thepresent invention also enables the provision of value for purchases atany network merchant using a variety of sources of value.

[0016] As used herein, the term on-line transaction refers to atransaction wherein a remotely situated consumer communicates with amerchant or with the transaction administrator to authorize thetransaction administrator to cause a payment to be made to the merchantfrom a consolidated account. Such transactions may be considered to haveoccurred at a merchant's “virtual” store. As also used herein, the termoff-line transaction refers to a transaction in which a consumerpresents a card to a merchant, such as in the merchant's physical placeof business, so that the merchant may communicate with the transactionadministrator to request a payment to be made to the merchant from theconsolidated account.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY DRAWINGS

[0017] The above-mentioned objects and features of the present inventioncan be more clearly understood from the following detailed descriptionconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which likenumerals represent like elements and in which:

[0018]FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional payment system;

[0019]FIG. 2 illustrates the external flow of information surrounding anexemplary consolidated payment account system;

[0020]FIG. 3 illustrates the flow of information within an exemplaryconsolidated payment account system in conjunction with an exemplaryprocess for authenticating a consumer and storing value in aconsolidated account;

[0021]FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process for maintaining theprivacy of the parties to a transaction for value using a consolidatedaccount;

[0022]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process for transferring a giftfrom one consumer to another consumer; and

[0023]FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process for redeeming incentivevalue using a consolidated account; and

[0024]FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary method for facilitating consumerpurchases from a merchant site where a remote card is present.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

[0025] As more fully explained herein, the present invention is apayment and funding vehicle that is configured to accommodate,consolidate, and store value from various sources into a singleconsolidated account. These sources of value (e.g., funding sources) mayinclude charge cards, credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, storedvalue cards, telephone cards, loyalty cards, financial accounts,electronic funds transfer accounts and/or the like and may be accessedthrough relationships with multiple issuers such as American Express,Visa, banks, loyalty companies, other third parties and/or the like. Inaddition to the sources described above, wherein the funds are typicallymoved in response to an explicit request from the cardholder, aconsolidated account may also receive funds that may be pushed into theconsolidated account in response to an external trigger or condition.Such triggers may be configured to accommodate recurring payments (e.g.,mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments and the like) or forunanticipated purchases (e.g., overages or unanticipated fees and/orassessments). Finally, these triggers may take the form of sweepaccounts, or overdraw/insufficient funds requests or other triggers thatdo not involve any explicit request from the cardholder.

[0026] Through the consolidated account, consumers are enabled to useany value source (e.g., payment instrument) to which they have access tofund their account and pay for their purchases. The invention alsoenables participants to take advantage of existing paymentinfrastructures currently in use within each financial institution'smerchant network by effectively extending greater payment choices andcapabilities to consumers. The merchant may continue to interact with anapparently traditional account, but how that account is enabled may bedefined by the consumer, free from traditional limitations. Accordingly,the consolidated account offers many of the attributes of a traditionalwallet where multiple payment products are available for use by theconsumer for use in completing a purchase transaction. The consolidatedaccount, however, has the additional attribute that it may act as astored value account that is funded before it is used. Therefore, inaccordance with the present invention, the consumer may choose how tofund the consolidated account, using one or several differentinstruments from one or many different issuers. Thus, one exemplary useof the consolidated account is analogous to the consumer acquiring fundsfrom a cash advance, one or more financial instruments, cash, and/or oneor more asset backed credit cards, then storing the acquired funds in anaccount, then accessing the stored funds (e.g., value) to settle paymentfor a purchase. To merchants, the consolidated account appears as atraditional instrument from which to acquire payments, while toconsumers the consolidated account takes the place of the traditionalissuer, i.e., provides a vehicle for executing payments, while beingable to store value acquired from any number and/or combination of theconsumer's designated sources, including any financial instruments thatcan be used to execute payments.

[0027]FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional payment system. As discussedabove, in the typical payment chain, the consumer 110 presents afinancial instrument 160 to a merchant 120 in exchange for goods orservices 112. The merchant 120 then sends the transaction on to itsacquirer 170, which in turn forwards it onto the instrument's issuer130. The issuer 130 sends a bill 114 to the consumer 110, who returns aremittance 132 to the issuer 130. The acquirer 170 effects payment 122to the merchant 120, and the acquirer 170 and issuer 130 effectsettlement 180 according to the different discounts and fees that aredue to each entity.

[0028]FIG. 2 illustrates the external flow of information surrounding anexemplary consolidated payment account system. In this exemplaryembodiment, the conventional process flow is changed and/or supplementedby inserting the consolidated payment account system 200 between themerchant 120 and the financial instrument (i.e., the issuer) 230 thatfunds the account to enable the payment 122. In this case, the valuesource 230 provides funds 202 to the consolidated payment account system200, which provides the payment 122 to the merchant 120. Therefore, inone embodiment, rather than directly paying the merchant 120, the systembalances the transaction by executing a stored value fund request thatis based upon value received from a funding instrument and that has beenstored in the consolidated account. As such, the consumers' behavior ispartially or fully hidden from the issuer of their financial instrumentsas all payments are made to and from the consolidated account. In thisform, the account serves as a proxy for the funding instrument as wellas the merchant. To a merchant, the consolidated account represents thetraditional acquirer. To a consumer, the consolidated account representsthe traditional issuer.

[0029] In on-line implementations of the instant invention, eachparticipant is equipped with a computing system. The consumer has acomputing unit in the form of a personal computer, although other typesof computing units may be used including laptops, notebooks, hand heldcomputers, set-top boxes, and the like. The merchant has a computingunit implemented in the form of a computer-server, although otherimplementations are possible. The transaction administrator, the accountadministrator, and the value source each may be implemented as acomputer, which may be a main frame computer or which may be implementedin other forms, such as mini-computers, PC servers, a network set ofcomputers, and the like.

[0030] The merchant computer, the consumer computer, and transactionadministrator computers may be interconnected via a network, referred toas a payment network. The payment network represents a combination ofexisting proprietary networks and non-proprietary networks thatpresently accommodate transactions for credit cards, debit cards, andother types of financial/banking cards. The payment network may be aclosed network, assumed to be secure from eavesdroppers, and in analternative embodiment, may include any open network, such as theinternet. A consumer may communicate with the system through a computernetwork, a telephone, or a physical device such as card readerconfigured to receive information from a card when a magnetic strip onthe card is swiped past the card reader. Examples of the payment networkinclude the American Express®, VisaNet® and the Veriphone® network. Inaddition, the transaction administrator, the account administrator, andthe value source may also be interconnected via a network, commonlyreferred to as a funding network. Accordingly, the consolidated paymentaccount system comprises a payment network and a funding network.

[0031] In an exemplary embodiment, the consolidated payment accountsystem is implemented as computer software modules loaded onto theconsumer's computer, the merchant's computer, the transactionadministrator's computer, the account administrator's computer, and thevalue source's computer. In an exemplary embodiment, the merchantcomputer, the consumer computer, and the value source computer do notrequire any additional software (beyond what is required to accomplishtraditional on-line transactions) to participate in the online commercetransactions supported by the consolidated payment account system. Theadditional facilitating software is implemented on the transactionadministrator's computer and the account administrator's computer.

[0032] Although labeled as a “bank” or a “value source,” the bank orvalue source may represent other types of issuing institutions, such ascredit card companies, card sponsoring companies, or third party issuersunder contract with financial institutions. In addition to issuingfinancial instruments, a bank or value source may provide valuecomprising non-financial instruments such as loyalty points, rewards, orcoupons. It is further noted that other participants may be involved insome phases of the transaction, such as an intermediary settlementinstitution, but these participants are not shown.

[0033] An “account number”, as used herein, includes any device, code,or other identifier/indicia suitably configured to allow the consumer tointeract or communicate with the system, such as, for example,authorization/access code, personal identification number (PIN),Internet code, other identification code, and/or the like which isoptionally located on a rewards or incentives card, charge card, creditcard, debit card, prepaid card, telephone card, smart card, magneticstripe card, bar code card, and/or the like. The account number may bedistributed and stored in any form of plastic, electronic, magnetic,and/or optical device capable of transmitting or downloading data fromitself to a second device. A consumer account number may be, forexample, a sixteen-digit value source identifier such as a credit cardnumber, although each credit provider has its own numbering system, suchas the fifteen-digit numbering system used by American Express. Eachcompany's credit card numbers comply with that company's standardizedformat such that the company using a sixteen-digit format will generallyuse four spaced sets of numbers, as represented by the number “0000 00000000 0000”. The first five to seven digits are reserved for processingpurposes and identify the issuing bank, card type and etc. In thisexample, the last sixteenth digit is used as a sum check for thesixteen-digit number. The intermediary eight-to-ten digits are used touniquely identify the consumer.

[0034] Although referred to as an account, the invention may represent acomplete payment service encompassing all involved processes fromauthentication of the participants to authorization of the transactionto settlement of the payment. The consolidated account may beestablished as virtual account, but can also be offered and distributedas a plastic card to be managed and/or supported by an issuer, and canfurther be branded for and distributed by a third party. It should benoted that the consolidated account may be used to facilitate onlinetransactions as well as transactions conducted at storefronts usingplastic that has been distributed for the consolidated account.

[0035] In addition, the consolidated account may be configured toaccommodate or override the requirements of the underlying dependentfinancial instruments at the direction of the account administrator. Ifthere are usage restrictions or limitations in place for a particularpayment product, those same controls (if known) optionally may beenforced by the consolidated account. Thus, the present invention mayprovide a single interface or entry-point for using different types ofpayment products into a merchant network, without bypassing,eliminating, or interfering with such controls, if desired. For example,if a particular payment product is restricted to use at only arestricted set of approved merchants, then, upon funding, either whollyor partially, from the particular payment product, the consolidatedaccount may disable itself from being used at non-approved merchants.

[0036] Additionally, since the consolidated account is an account,different features that can be attached to the account can be developedand offered to the consumer to customize the base product for their use.Additional products and services that can be developed and layered onthe base payment product including loyalty programs, private payments(i.e., payments that use a proxy number in place of a main accountnumber), secure (card member present) payments, electronic giftcertificates, private billing and shipping and any new products and/orservices that are implemented within or leverage the existing paymentinfrastructure. It should be noted that various loyalty programs couldbe attached to the consolidated account to incent and encourage use ofthe account by cardholders.

[0037] As such, this invention takes advantage of the existing paymentinfrastructure, enabling relationships with the merchant network to beused while minimizing requirements for changes. Moreover, theconsolidated account can be used for all direct interactions with amerchant regardless of the type of payment being used to provide value(e.g., fund the account) for a particular purchase. The consumer is ableto use a form of payment that is convenient and practical for them, notlimited by the merchants' ability to interact with a product. Thisoffers the consumer flexibility and privacy, while simplifying thedemands on the merchant. Accordingly, the disparate preferences of amerchant and a consumer simultaneously may be satisfied.

[0038] Since all payments flow through the consolidated account (i.e.,temporarily exist as value used to fund or be stored in the consolidatedaccount prior to payment to the merchant), any payment productconfigured to provide value to be stored in the consolidated account(i.e., to fund the consolidated account) can be used by the consumer asa payment mechanism. In an exemplary embodiment, the consolidatedaccount may be configured to shield the identity of the payment product,i.e., funding source, from the merchant. Although shielding the identityof the funding source from the merchant precludes the merchant fromverifying whether the funding card is present, i.e., establishing acard-present condition, a level of risk normally commensurate with acard-present condition may nevertheless be achieved. This is because aconsolidated account issuer may accrue experience relating to theperformance of the particular user of the consolidated account, i.e.,the reliability of that user and the designated funding source inproviding adequate funding for the consolidated account. Accordingly,the decreased level of risk normally associated with a card-presentcondition for a funding source card may be achieved by virtue of theauthentication of the consolidated account—despite the absence of thatfunding source card.

[0039] The consolidated account solution is also advantageous becausenetwork merchants already accept traditional transaction card products(such as American Express, Discover, Visa, or MasterCard) and canauthorize and settle against those accounts using the same processes themerchants currently use. Moreover, consumers can use all traditional andnew forms of payments to fund the consolidated account, enabling thosepayment forms to effectively be used for purchases at any networkmerchant. Thus, the consolidated account may extend benefits associatedwith a specific issuer, e.g., private payments, loyalty programs andsecure payments, to those who do not have the issuer's card account orfinancial instrument. Moreover, the consolidated account effectivelyenables use of specific instruments or types of instruments at merchantlocations that do not typically accept the specific instruments or typesof instruments. The invention is also configured to enable a serviceprovider to customize payment solutions for third parties (e.g., partiesother than the transaction administrator) and to distribute thosesolutions through the third party. For example, a third party couldissue a consolidated account based upon a plastic card that could beused either at its online merchants or at any of its designated physicallocations. As a result, the consolidated account may be used to rewardcertain types of spending behavior (e.g., online purchasing) while stillenabling universal use in a physical environment. At the same time, theinstant invention enables the cardholder to hide his true identity andenables the use of private billing or shipping mechanisms, therebyproviding greater privacy to the cardholder.

[0040] As a further advantage, the instant invention may facilitate anacquisition of an issuer of incompatible instruments without requiringthe conversion of the acquired accounts. For example, in accordance withthe invention, an issuing institution that acquires another issuinginstitution may permit the acquired institution to continue to issuewhatever instruments they had been issuing regardless whether theinstruments of the acquired institution are compatible with those of theacquiring institution. Through a consolidated account, the acquiredinstitution may continue to issue the incompatible instruments while theunderlying consolidated account may use the statementing and servicingfacilities of the acquiring product.

[0041] As discussed above, the present invention accommodates paymentproducts from, for example, charge cards, credit cards, debit cards,gift cards, stored value cards, telephone cards, loyalty cards,financial accounts, electronic funds transfer accounts and/or the likeas well as card issuers such as, for example, American Express, Visa,MasterCard or private cash companies such as InternetCash or Flooz, oreven other vendors such as Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, and the like to beused within an unmodified merchant network. Access to a merchant networkwith the consolidated account provides greater choice by the consumerregarding how they will pay for purchases, even if the consumer does notpossess a specific payment product or any payment product at all.

[0042] The system also supports other payment forms that have evolvedfrom, and are more prevalent, online. These other payment forms include,for example, subscription or recurring payments for renewable, sweepaccounts, periodic services, as well as micro-payments forlocation-based (i.e., dispensing machines, parking meters, and the like)or digital rights management services such as those providing musicand/or software. Management of the micro-payments may includeaggregation for settlement with the merchant and transaction viewing bythe consumer. In addition, the system facilitates integratedstatementing and may be configured to draw funds from a designatedsource or set of sources into the consolidated account on a specifiedschedule. Alternatively, the designated source or set or sources couldbe scheduled to place funds into the consolidated account according to apredetermined schedule. In addition to scheduled value transfers, thesystem may be configured to accommodate condition-based triggers, whichenable the system to respond to unanticipated needs for value.

[0043] In an exemplary embodiment, a consolidated account may be fundedfrom a plurality of funding sources, and the order and proportion inwhich value is acquired from each of the sources may be determinedaccording to a user-defined funding profile. In accordance with thisembodiment, a user may define one or more value sources from which valuewill be drawn and may specify a set of one ore more rules by which thevalue will be acquired from those sources. For example, a user or issuermay specify a set of static rules, e.g., a limit that may not beexceeded for a particular source, an order or proportion in which fundsmay be drawn from the plurality of sources, or the like. Further,dynamic rules may be defined by the user or the issuer that depend uponone or more variables that may be monitored by the system, such ascurrent interest rates associated with each value source, currentbalance in each value source, availability of funds, statement cut-offdate, transaction date, type of merchant or product or service, or anyother similar set of criteria desired by a user or issuer.

[0044] In the case of micro-payments, the consolidated account may beused to pay for a series of purchases of goods and/or services, then toaggregate the individual charges into a larger transaction to be settledin a single aggregate payment to the merchant. The funding for themicro-payments could be acquired in a variety of ways as discussedpreviously. The system enables production of an aggregated statement,providing significant cost advantages over production of multipleindividual statements. In addition, a threshold may be placed on themicro-payments to limit spending on specific products, categories ofproducts, services, categories of services, merchants, and/or groups ofmerchants. The system may also be configured to automatically fundmicro-payment purchases.

[0045] As described above with respect to the aggregation ofmicro-payments, the consolidated account provides the ability to reportall activity through the consolidated account, regardless of the source,on a single statement. For example, if a consumer uses a Visa card, anAmex green card, and a bank debit card to fund the consolidated account,then uses the consolidated account to pay for purchases during aparticular month, then a consolidated statement can be produced showingthe shared activity.

[0046] In addition, the platform can also be used as an interface withmerchants to facilitate the use of proprietary payment services such asFlooz, Beenz, and InternetCash and the like. Similarly, the platform canbe used by merchants as an interface to facilitate use of varied paymentforms. When the system is used, the source of the funds for the paymentis fully or partially hidden from the merchant, and the uniquecharacteristics of the source of funds are not transmitted to themerchant, since interaction occurs only through the consolidatedaccount.

[0047]FIG. 3 illustrates the flow of information within an exemplaryconsolidated payment account system in conjunction with an exemplaryprocess for authenticating a consumer and storing value (e.g., funding)a consolidated account to facilitate transactions for value using theconsolidated account. The system that executes the described processesincludes a consumer 110, a merchant 120, a transaction administrator330, an account administrator 340 and a value source 230. The consumer110 acts in concert with a merchant 120 to communicate with thetransaction administrator 340 in a similar fashion as is currentlyaccomplished when using conventional credit card payment systems. Forexample, a consumer 110 wishing to pay for goods and/or services at aparticipating merchant 120 site typically presents a credit card to themerchant or swipes the card at the merchant site. By doing so, theconsumer 110, and/or the merchant 120 acting on behalf of the consumer110, initiates communication with the creditor, which is analogous tothe transaction administrator 330 of the instant invention. Inconventional systems, the creditor may respond by verifying that theconsumer 110 has sufficient value available in the account to fund thepurchase, and if so, may provide an authorization code to the merchant120 to assure the merchant 120 of receiving value for the goods and/orservices provided to the consumer 110. The creditor, then, follows up bybilling the consumer 110 and paying the merchant 120.

[0048] In the instant invention, however, the transaction administrator330, while interfacing with the merchant 120 in a conventional manner,such as by providing an authorization code, does not perform the followup of billing the consumer 110 for the value ultimately provided tocompensate the merchant 120 for his provision of goods and/or services.Instead, the transaction administrator 330 acts in concert with anaccount administrator 340 to delegate the billing and collection dutiesto a value source 230. The transaction administrator 330 still followsup by compensating the merchant 120, but does not perform the task ofbilling the consumer 110. Put another way, the consolidated account isconcerned with payments, not collections. As a result, identity of theconsumer's source of funds is shielded from the merchant 120. Byaccepting value from a variety of value sources 230, such as banksand/or other issuers of credit, the consolidated account system isrelieved of the burdens associated with providing individual credit andcollection functions. Moreover, the consolidated account may beconfigured for single use or multiple use, being capable of funding onceor many times from a single source or from many sources.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 3, the process of establishing and/or funding aconsolidated account may be initiated by a consumer 110 firstcommunicating an account request 332 to the transaction administrator330. The transaction administrator then responds by communicating anoffer 312 to the consumer 110 to provide a consolidated account 350 forstoring value 202. If the consumer 110 accepts the offer 312, thetransaction administrator 330 responds by collecting authenticationinformation 334, including, for example, demographic information and theconsumer's designated source of value 230 for retrieving value to bestored in the consolidated account 350, from the consumer 110. Thedesignated source of value 230 may comprise any combination of one ormore sources of value including, but not limited to, financialinstruments such as, for example, charge cards, credit cards, debitcards, gift cards, stored value cards, telephone cards, loyalty cards,financial accounts, electronic funds transfer accounts and/or the like.The transaction administrator 330 may also proceed by identifying,and/or verifying the identity of, the consumer 110. This step ofobtaining and/or verifying the consumer's identity may be accomplishedthrough a variety of means that are known in the art including, but notlimited to, use of private databases, credit bureau databases,transmission of biometric data, transmission of “hand-shake” data (i.e.,smart card signature, challenge/response, etc) and/or the like. Examplesof online authentication are disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. ______“Microchip-Enabled Online Transaction System”, filed Aug. 16, 2001, withinventors Anant Nambiar and Geoffrey Stern, which is hereby incorporatedby reference. Thus, the authentication information is collected for thepurpose of establishing the consolidated account and defining itsownership. It should be noted that since there are no creditrequirements for the account, the account could be establishedanonymously or alternatively may require an identity. It should also benoted that, although the instant invention may be embodied as amicrochip enabled device, it may also be configured as a virtual and nota physical (e.g., plastic) account, which may not accommodate amicrochip.

[0050] Upon positive verification, the transaction administrator 330proceeds by communicating the request to create the consolidated account350, together with the requisite information (i.e.; name, physicaladdress, email address, personal identifiers such as social securitynumber, and any information similar to that needed to establish anyaccount) to an account administrator 340. Finally, the accountadministrator 340 communicates the request for value 332 to theconsumer's designated value source 230. This request for value mayinclude information typical of standard funding requests and shouldencompass data that would accompany any typical payment transaction(e.g., merchant number, card number, expiration date, amount, date ofpurchase, and the like). In an exemplary embodiment, a consolidatedaccount enables a transaction administrator to effect payment to amerchant through existing payment and settlement infrastructures.

[0051] As mentioned briefly above, the invention solves or reducesseveral of the common transaction problems, such as privacy, security,and acceptance, involved in the direct use of traditional cards formaking purchases or otherwise balancing transactions. In an exemplaryembodiment, the consolidated account may be configured to define how,what and when information regarding a particular purchase, as well asinformation regarding a particular funding source, is used and by whom.

[0052] Privacy of the consumer 10 is enhanced as the consumer's actualpayment method, used to provide value to fund the account and ultimatelypay for the purchase, is shielded from the merchant. Additionally,information regarding where the purchase occurs and what is beingpurchased by the consumer 110, can be hidden from the cards' issuer(especially if the consolidated account 350 serves as a merchant proxyfor the purchase). Security of the transaction and the consumers'different accounts is improved, as the only instrument that may beexposed to external parties is the consolidated account 350, thusprotecting the consumer's other payment instruments. If attempts aremade to use the consolidated account 350 fraudulently, the potential forloss may be easily mitigated. Because value can be stored in theconsolidated account 350, in one embodiment, prior to a purchase, thevalue stored in the account can be managed at a low level, therebylimiting the exposed value and providing additional protection to theconsumer 110 and merchant.

[0053]FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary process for maintaining the fullor partial privacy of the parties to a transaction for value using aconsolidated account 350. As shown in FIG. 4, the present inventionprovides a method for shielding or partially shielding the identities ofthe parties to the transaction, also known as private payment blinding.In this exemplary embodiment, the transaction administrator 330instructs an authentication engine to verify the identity of a consumer(step 402). The consumer 110 then requests a purchase at a website orother merchant (step 404), the purchase request also being communicatedto the transaction administrator 330. In response, the transactionadministrator 330 communicates the consumer's value source identifier,such as a credit card number or the like, to the designated value source(step 406). The value source 230 then communicates a proxy or privatepayment number to the transaction administrator (step 408), whichforwards the private payment number to the website or merchant (step410). Additional details related to the generation of a private paymentnumber can be found in “System For Facilitating A Transaction”, U.S.Ser. No. 09/800,461, filing date Mar. 7, 2001, which is herebyincorporated by reference. As such, the website or merchant receivesvalue indirectly from the consumer's designated value source 230, butthe identity of that value source 230 is not communicated to, and isthus shielded from, the website and/or the merchant. In other words, thewebsite or merchant is blinded from the value source 230 withoutrequiring any registration from the consumer 110. It should be notedthat the use of a private payment number does not affect the interactionbetween the consolidated account 350 and the value source 230. Theconsolidated account serves as a blind for the underlying accounts thatfund it. The private payment number may also be used to blind theconsolidated account and any value present on it. Thus, when the privatepayment number is used in conjunction with the consolidated account, adouble blind exists between the merchant and the underlying account. Asa result, the private payment number adds an additional layer ofshielding between the consolidated account and the merchant.

[0054] A private payment number is a limited use account number, and itsuse is effective to front the consolidated account number. Because onlyknown consumers may use a private payment number, the consumer mustauthenticate their identity in order to establish the relationshipbetween the two account numbers. In an exemplary embodiment, theauthentication is typically a user id/password that is unique to theconsumer and their consolidated account. Private payments reduces theexposure of the financial instrument on the public network.

[0055] It should be noted that the private payments process and thefunding process of the instant invention are distinct. The funding ofthe consolidated account does not depend upon whether private paymentsis being used. In an exemplary embodiment, a consumer may fund aconsolidated account through an online transaction. Then, the consumermay access the private payments site and request a private paymentnumber for the consolidated account number. In response, the privatepayments system authenticates the consumer's identity and issues theprivate payment number to the consumer. The consumer may then access amerchant site and use the private payment number to purchase some goodsor services. The settlement system then recognizes that the privatepayment number is a facade for the consolidated account and pays themerchant using funds from the consolidated account. As a result, themerchant only sees the private payment number, which carries no actualvalue in and of itself, but which is associated with the appropriateconsolidated account.

[0056] In an exemplary embodiment, a consolidated account may facilitategifting. For example, a first consolidated account may be funded by asecond consolidated account. In accordance with this embodiment, one ormore givers could use their consolidated account or another value sourceto fund a recipient's consolidated account. The recipient's consolidatedaccount may be governed by a set of rules affecting the amount offunding, permissible merchants, types of merchants, goods, services,transaction dates, or the like.

[0057]FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary process for transferring a giftfrom one consumer 110 to another. In this exemplary embodiment, thetransaction administrator 330 instructs the authentication engine (step502) to verify the identity of the giving consumer (step 504) who theninitiates the gifting process by communicating a gifting request to agifting merchant (step 506), the request being communicated to thetransaction administrator (step 508). In response, the transactionadministrator 330 communicates a request (step 510) to the value source230 to authorize (step 512) and submit (step 514) the charge. Next, thetransaction administrator 330 communicates a request (step 516) to theaccount administrator 340 to store value in the consolidated account(step 518). In response, the account administrator 340 communicates arequest to the value source 230 with the request for value (step 520).Then, the gifting merchant sends a gift notification to the receivingconsumer (step 522). Finally, the transaction administrator 330instructs the authentication engine to verify the identity of thereceiving consumer who may then receive the gift (step 524).

[0058] As discussed above, the present invention provides a stored valueinstrument that accommodates a variety of sources of value. Accordingly,it may be adapted to redeem incentive value earned from non-financialsources such as membership or loyalty rewards or the like, using aconsolidated account 350. To accomplish the redemption of value fromnon-financial sources requires a method of conversion to be provided.This may be provided directly by the value source or the consumer. Ifany of the databases or platforms are incompatible, the system willimplement the appropriate conversions, such as, for example, the systemdisclosed in U.S. Provisional Patent application serial No. 60/280,806,filed Apr. 2, 2001, and U.S. Ser. No. ______, entitled “System AndMethod For An Interoperability Framework”, filed on ______, which arehereby incorporated by reference.

[0059] In one embodiment, FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary process forredeeming incentive value using a consolidated account 350. In thisexemplary embodiment, a consumer 110 whose identity has been verified bythe authentication engine, requests the use of accrued incentives at aweb site or a merchant site (step 602). Then, the transactionadministrator 330 communicates a request to an incentive engine with anincentive burn request and the value source identifier and the identityof the consumer's consolidated account (step 604). Next, the incentiveengine verifies that the appropriate quantity of incentive value hasbeen earned (step 606) and communicates a request to the accountadministrator (step 608). The account administrator 340 thencommunicates a request to the value source (step 610) to burn theincentives (step 612) and store the corresponding value in (e.g., fund)the consolidated account (step 614). The account administrator 340 thencreates a debit to the card account for the stored value purchase and acredit to offset the purchase with the incentive (step 616). Finally,the transaction administrator 330 provides the consolidated accountnumber to the merchant for the purchase (step 618).

[0060] It should be noted that the process of funding the consolidatedaccount is distinct from the process of paying the merchant. Asdiscussed above, the consolidated account shields the merchant from thesource of funds for the transaction. Accordingly, the use of loyaltypoints to fund the consolidated account is completely shielded from themerchant as well. For example, if a consumer wishes to use theconsolidated account to burn their points, the corresponding monetaryvalue is placed into the consolidated account, and the consolidatedaccount may then be used like any other card product on the merchantsite. There is nothing that identifies the actual source of the value tothe merchant.

[0061]FIG. 7 illustrates another aspect of the present invention, inwhich the consolidated account 350 provides a method for facilitatingconsumer purchases from a merchant site where a remote card is present.In this aspect, the consumer provides additional information thatauthenticates their identity. In this embodiment, the transactionadministrator 330 instructs the authentication engine (step 702) toverify the identity of a consumer (step 704), who then requests to makea purchase at a merchant site (step 706). In response, the transactionadministrator 330 redirects the consumer 110 to the accountadministrator (step 708). The value source 230 then interfaces with theconsumer 110 to authenticate the consumer's credit card usage,separately from the transaction administrator 330, using informationknown by the value source 230 about that consumer (step 710). Thisincludes multiple levels of verification, including value sourceidentifier, CID, billing address, etc. It may also involve a user ID andpassword or a chip and pin. Next, the transaction administrator 330obtains a private payment number to blind the value source (step 712).Finally, the transaction administrator 330 provides a private paymentnumber to the merchant to effect payment for the transaction (step 714).

[0062] In addition to allowing a consumer to specify how a consolidatedaccount may be funded, a consolidated account may also permit a merchantor other value recipient to specify how they wish to receive the value,e.g., in dollars, beans, loyalty points, or any other form of value.Accordingly, a consolidated account may serve as a two-way proxy thatmay satisfy the wishes of the parties on both ends of a transaction. Assuch, a consolidated account may be used to facilitate transactionsbetween parties who may be accustomed to paying and receiving paymentsin differing forms. Thus, a consolidated account may facilitatetransactions across diverse geopolitical regions and may be used, forexample, to facilitate transfers of value from a government entity,parent, or company in one part of the world to a serviceman, dependent,or representative in another region of the world, with both partiesspecifying the form of value with which they wish to conduct thetransaction. Moreover, by issuing a consolidated account, an issuer mayaccommodate multiple merchants, each of which may be configured toaccept only a specific type of instrument, e.g., VISA or AmericanExpress, while the issuer need only issue the single consolidatedaccount. Thus, a consolidated account may be simultaneously configuredto accommodate the specific needs and preferences of multiple merchantas well as multiple consumers.

[0063] Other systems that may be integrated with, or layered on, thepresent invention include, for example, other loyalty systems,transaction systems, electronic commerce systems and digital walletsystems such as, for example, the Shop AMEX™ system as disclosed in Ser.No. 60/230,190 filed Sep. 5, 2000; the MR as Currency™ and LoyaltyRewards Systems disclosed in Ser. No. 09/834,478 filed on Apr. 13, 2001;a Digital Wallet System disclosed in U.S. Ser. No. 09/652,899 filed Aug.31, 2000; a Stored Value Card as disclosed in Ser. No. 09/241,188 filedon Feb. 1, 1999; a System for Facilitating Transactions Using SecondaryTransaction Numbers disclosed in Ser. No. 09/800,461 filed on Mar. 7,2001; Methods and Apparatus for Conducting Electronic Transactionsdisclosed in Ser. No. 60/232,040 filed Sep. 12, 2000, all of which arehereby incorporated by reference. Other examples of online reward orincentive systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,870, issued onJun. 30, 1998, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,412, issued on Dec. 29, 1999,both of which are hereby incorporated by reference. Additionalinformation relating to smart card and smart card reader paymenttechnology is disclosed in Ser. No. 60/232,040, filed on Sep. 12, 2000,and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,742,845; 5,898,838 and 5,905,908, owned byDatascape; which are hereby incorporated by reference. Moreover,additional information related to online privacy and anonymity systemsmay be found at www.PRIVADA.COM, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

[0064] The system of the present invention provides the ability tovalidate the identity of existing and new consumers as well as theability to store and authenticate consumer data, and enables consumersto enjoy more manageable billing and payment processes. In addition, thesystem provides the ability to strengthen consumer loyalty. Thisconsolidated account 350 is a virtual account that enables consumers topay for web services as well as online purchases using charge, creditand debit accounts across multiple bank relationships (AXP and thirdparty) as well as cash (stored value). In addition, the consolidatedaccount 350 enables additional products and services, such as loyaltybenefits, to be layered onto the account. The consolidated account 350system includes an authentication engine at the disposal of thetransaction administrator 330 in addition to a consumer database and aloyalty engine to encourage repeat consumer usage and increase theconsumer base. Additional features include private payments, securepayment with or without the card member being present and privatebilling and shipping. Private payments become available through thepresent invention, to all bank card consumers. Further, consolidatedaccount numbers can be substituted with private payment numbers toenhance privacy. In this way, consumers benefit from additional securityof their number and, simultaneously, merchants are protected from fraudif numbers stored in databases are fraudulently obtained. With respectto the secure payment solution (card member present), payments forconsolidated account holders will reduce fraud to merchants throughverification of users via ID/password. Alternatively, chip/pinauthenticated payments could be offered.

[0065] The system may include a host server or other computing systemsincluding a processor for processing digital data, a memory coupled tosaid processor for storing digital data, an input digitizer coupled tothe processor for inputting digital data, an application program storedin said memory and accessible by said processor for directing processingof digital data by said processor, a display coupled to the processorand memory for displaying information derived from digital dataprocessed by said processor and a plurality of databases, said databasesincluding client data, merchant data, financial institution data and/orlike data that could be used in association with the present invention.As those skilled in the art will appreciate, user computer willtypically include an operating system (e.g., Windows NT, 95/98/2000,Linux, Solaris, etc.) as well as various conventional support softwareand drivers typically associated with computers. User computer can be ina home or business environment with access to a network. In an exemplaryembodiment, access is through the Internet through acommercially-available web-browser software package.

[0066] Communication between the parties to the transaction and thesystem of the present invention is accomplished through any suitablecommunication means, such as, for example, a telephone network,Intranet, Internet, point of interaction device (point of sale device,personal digital assistant, cellular phone, kiosk, etc.), onlinecommunications, off-line communications, wireless communications, and/orthe like. One skilled in the art will also appreciate that, for securityreasons, any databases, systems, or components of the present inventionmay consist of any combination of databases or components at a singlelocation or at multiple locations, wherein each database or systemincludes any of various suitable security features, such as firewalls,access codes, encryption, de-encryption, compression, decompression,and/or the like.

[0067] Database may be any type of database, such as relational,hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Common database productsthat may be used to implement the databases include DB2 by IBM (WhitePlains, N.Y.), any of the database products available from OracleCorporation (Redwood Shores, Calif.), Microsoft Access by MicrosoftCorporation (Redmond, Wash.), or any other database product. Databasemay be organized in any suitable manner, including as data tables orlookup tables. Association of certain data may be accomplished throughany data association technique known and practiced in the art. Forexample, the association may be accomplished either manually orautomatically. Automatic association techniques may include, forexample, a database search, a database merge, GREP, AGREP, SQL, and/orthe like. The association step may be accomplished by a database mergefunction, for example, using a “key field” in each of the manufacturerand retailer data tables. A “key field” partitions the databaseaccording to the high-level class of objects defined by the key field.For example, a certain class may be designated as a key field in boththe first data table and the second data table, and the two data tablesmay then be merged on the basis of the class data in the key field. Inthis embodiment, the data corresponding to the key field in each of themerged data tables is preferably the same. However, data tables havingsimilar, though not identical, data in the key fields may also be mergedby using AGREP, for example.

[0068] The computer may provide a suitable website or otherInternet-based graphical user interface which is accessible by users. Inone embodiment, the Internet Information Server, Microsoft TransactionServer, and Microsoft SQL Server, are used in conjunction with theMicrosoft operating system, Microsoft NT web server software, aMicrosoft SQL database system, and a Microsoft Commerce Server.Additionally, components such as Access Sequel Server, Oracle, MySQL,Intervase, etc., may be used to provide an ADO-compliant databasemanagement system. The term “webpage” as it is used herein is not meantto limit the type of documents and applications that might be used tointeract with the user. For example, a typical website might include, inaddition to standard HTML documents, various forms, Java applets,Javascript, active server pages (ASP), common gateway interface scripts(CGI), extensible markup language (XML), dynamic HTML, cascading stylesheets (CSS), helper applications, plug-ins, and the like.

[0069] The present invention may be described herein in terms offunctional block components, screen shots, optional selections andvarious processing steps. It should be appreciated that such functionalblocks may be realized by any number of hardware and/or softwarecomponents configured to perform the specified functions. For example,the present invention may employ various integrated circuit components,e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-uptables, and the like, which may carry out a variety of functions underthe control of one or more microprocessors or other control devices.Similarly, the software elements of the present invention may beimplemented with any programming or scripting language such as C, C++,Java, COBOL, assembler, PERL, extensible markup language (XML), with thevarious algorithms being implemented with any combination of datastructures, objects, processes, routines or other programming elements.Further, it should be noted that the present invention may employ anynumber of conventional techniques for data transmission, signaling, dataprocessing, network control, and the like. Still further, the inventioncould be used to detect or prevent security issues with a client-sidescripting language, such as JavaScript, VBScript or the like. For abasic introduction of cryptography, please review a text written byBruce Schneier, which is entitled “Applied Cryptography: Protocols,Algorithms, And Source Code In C,” published by John Wiley & Sons(second edition, 1996), which is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0070] One skilled in the art will appreciate that the network mayinclude any system for exchanging data or transacting business, such asthe Internet, an intranet, an extranet, WAN, LAN, satellitecommunications, and/or the like. It is noted that the network may beimplemented as other types of networks, such as an interactivetelevision (ITV) network. The users may interact with the system via anyinput device such as a keyboard, mouse, kiosk, personal digitalassistant, handheld computer (e.g., Palm Pilot®), cellular phone and/orthe like. Similarly, the invention could be used in conjunction with anytype of personal computer, network computer, workstation, minicomputer,mainframe, or the like running any operating system such as any versionof Windows, Windows NT, Windows2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, MacOS,OS/2, BeOS, Linux, UNIX, Solaris or the like. Moreover, although theinvention is frequently described herein as being implemented withTCP/IP communications protocols, it will be readily understood that theinvention could also be implemented using IPX, Appletalk, IP-6, NetBIOS,OSI or any number of existing or future protocols. Moreover, the systemcontemplates the use, sale or distribution of any goods, services orinformation over any network having similar functionality describedherein.

[0071] The computing units may be connected with each other via a datacommunication network. The network may be a public network and assumedto be insecure and open to eavesdroppers. In the illustratedimplementation, the network may be embodied as the internet. In thiscontext, the computers may or may not be connected to the internet atall times. For instance, the consumer computer may employ a modem tooccasionally connect to the internet, whereas the bank computing centermight maintain a permanent connection to the internet. Specificinformation related to the protocols, standards, and applicationsoftware utilized in connection with the Internet may not be discussedherein. For further information regarding such details, see, forexample, Dilip Naik, Internet Standards and Protocols (1998); Java 2Complete, various authors, (Sybex 1999); Deborah Ray and Eric Ray,Mastering HTML 4.0 (1997). Loshin, TCP/IP Clearly Explained (1997). Allof these texts are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0072] The systems may be suitably coupled to network via data links. Avariety of conventional communications media and protocols may be usedfor data links. Such as, for example, a connection to an InternetService Provider (ISP) over the local loop as is typically used inconnection with standard modem communication, cable modem, Dishnetworks, ISDN, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), or various wirelesscommunication methods. Merchant system might also reside within a localarea network (LAN) which interfaces to network via a leased line (T1,D3, etc.). Such communication methods are well known in the art, and arecovered in a variety of standard texts. See, e.g., Gilbert Held,Understanding Data Communications (1996), hereby incorporated byreference.

[0073] It should be appreciated that the particular implementationsshown and described herein are illustrative of the invention and itsbest mode and are not intended to otherwise limit the scope of thepresent invention in any way. Indeed, for the sake of brevity,conventional data networking, application development and otherfunctional aspects of the systems (and components of the individualoperating components of the systems) may not be described in detailherein. Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figurescontained herein are intended to represent exemplary functionalrelationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. Itshould be noted that many alternative or additional functionalrelationships or physical connections may be present in a practicalelectronic transaction system.

[0074] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, thepresent invention may be embodied as a method, a data processing system,a device for data processing, and/or a computer program product.Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirelysoftware embodiment, an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodimentcombining aspects of both software and hardware. Furthermore, thepresent invention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program codemeans embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized, including hard disks, CD-ROM, opticalstorage devices, magnetic storage devices, and/or the like.

[0075] The present invention is described herein with reference toscreen shots, block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatus (e.g., systems), and computer program products according tovarious aspects of the invention. It will be understood that eachfunctional block of the block diagrams and the flowchart illustrations,and combinations of functional blocks in the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by computerprogram instructions. These computer program instructions may be loadedonto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions which execute on the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus create means for implementing the functionsspecified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[0076] These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks.The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series ofoperational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmableapparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that theinstructions which execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

[0077] Accordingly, functional blocks of the block diagrams andflowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing thespecified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specifiedfunctions, and program instruction means for performing the specifiedfunctions. It will also be understood that each functional block of theblock diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations offunctional blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, canbe implemented by either special purpose hardware-based computer systemswhich perform the specified functions or steps, or suitable combinationsof special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0078] In the foregoing specification, the invention has been describedwith reference to specific embodiments. However, it will be appreciatedthat various modifications and changes can be made without departingfrom the scope of the present invention. The specification and figuresare to be regarded in an illustrative manner, rather than a restrictiveone, and all such modifications are intended to be included within thescope of present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the inventionshould be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents,rather than by the examples given above. For example, the steps recitedin any of the method or process claims may be executed in any order andare not limited to the order presented in the claims.

[0079] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have beendescribed above with regard to specific embodiments. However, thebenefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element(s) that maycause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become morepronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essentialfeatures or elements of any or all the claims. As used herein, the terms“comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intendedto cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Further, noelement described herein is required for the practice of the inventionunless expressly described as “essential” or “critical.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for providing a payment for an on-linetransaction comprising the steps of: providing a consolidated accountconfigured to store value, storing the value in the consolidatedaccount, and making a payment with the stored value.
 2. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising the step of communicating a request for valueto one or more value sources.
 3. The method of claim 2, said step ofcommunicating performed according to a predetermined schedule.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, said step of communicating performed in response toan occurrence of a triggering event.
 5. The method of claim 4, saidtriggering event comprising an anticipated overdraft of the consolidatedaccount.
 6. The method of claim 2, said step of communicating performedin accordance with a predefined rule.
 7. The method of claim 6, saidrule depending upon one or more interest rate of said one or more valuesource.
 8. The method of claim 6, said rule defined by a user.
 9. Themethod of claim 6, said rule defined by an issuer.
 10. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising the step of providing a statement indicatinga quantity of funds stored in the consolidated account.
 11. The methodof claim 1 further comprising the step of providing a statementindicating payments made from the consolidated account.
 12. The methodof claim 1 further comprising the step of communicating an offer to theconsumer to provide said consolidated account.
 13. The method of claim 1further comprising the step of receiving from a consumer a request forsaid consolidated account.
 14. The method of claim 1 further comprisingthe step of collecting authentication information from a consumer. 15.The method of claim 14 further comprising the step of verifying theconsumer's identity.
 16. The method of claim 14, said informationincluding demographic information concerning the consumer.
 17. Themethod of claim 1 further comprising the step of identifying theconsumer's designated value source.
 18. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising the step of receiving value from one or more value source.19. The method of claim 18, said value source comprising two or moresources of value.
 20. The method of claim 18, said value sourcecomprising one or more charge account.
 21. The method of claim 18, saidvalue source comprising one or more debit account.
 22. The method ofclaim 18, said value source comprising one or more gift account.
 23. Themethod of claim 18, said value source comprising one or more storedvalue account.
 24. The method of claim 18, said value source comprisingone or more telephone account.
 25. The method of claim 18, said valuesource comprising one or more loyalty device.
 26. A system for providinga payment for an on-line transaction, the system comprising an accountadministrator in communication with a transaction administrator and oneor more value sources, the transaction administrator configured toperform the steps of providing a consolidated account configured tostore value, storing value in the consolidated account, and settling thepayment with the stored value.
 27. The system of claim 26, the accountadministrator configured to perform the step of communicating a requestfor value to one or more value sources.
 28. The system of claim 27, saidcommunicating performed according to a predetermined schedule.
 29. Themethod of claim 27, said communicating performed in response to anoccurrence of a triggering event.
 30. The system of claim 26, saidaccount administrator configured to perform the step of providing astatement indicating funds stored in the consolidated account.
 31. Thesystem of claim 26, said account administrator configured to perform thestep of providing a statement indicating payments made from theconsolidated account.
 32. The system of claim 26, the transactionadministrator configured to perform the step of communicating an offerto the consumer to provide said consolidated account.
 33. The system ofclaim 26, the transaction administrator configured to perform the stepof receiving from a consumer a request for said consolidated account.34. The system of claim 26, further comprising an authentication enginein communication with the transaction administrator, the authenticationengine configured to perform the step of collecting authenticationinformation from a consumer.
 35. The system of claim 34, theauthentication engine configured to perform the step of verifying theconsumer's identity.
 36. The system of claim 34, said informationincluding demographic information concerning the consumer.
 37. Thesystem of claim 26, the transaction administrator configured to performthe step of identifying the consumer's designated value source.
 38. Thesystem of claim 26, the account administrator configured to perform thestep of receiving value from one or more value source.
 39. The method ofclaim 38, said value source comprising two or more sources of value. 40.The method of claim 38, said value source comprising one or more chargeaccount.
 41. The method of claim 38, said value source comprising one ormore debit account.
 42. The method of claim 38, said value sourcecomprising one or more gift account.
 43. The method of claim 38, saidvalue source comprising one or more stored value account.
 44. The methodof claim 38, said value source comprising one or more telephone account.45. The method of claim 38, said value source comprising one or moreloyalty account.
 46. The method of claim 38, the account administratorconfigured to perform the step of communicating a request for value toone or more value source in accordance with a predefined rule.
 47. Themethod of claim 46, said rule depending upon one or more interest rateof said one or more value source.
 48. The method of claim 46, said ruledefined by a user.
 49. The method of claim 46, said rule defined by anissuer.
 50. The system of claim 26, said payment comprising value havinga form defined a user.
 51. The system of claim 26, said paymentcomprising value having a form defined a merchant.